Apathetic Russians have little interest in political process

According to data from surveys, almost two thirds of Russians are indifferent to the political situation in the country. In their explanation of these results experts claim in the first instance that the population are more focused on everyday problems and do not trust those in power.

In a recent survey from the Levada Center
polling agency assessing the attitudes of Russians towards politics, 34 percent
of those surveyed selected the response “I don’t like politics.” A further 29
percent replied that they were indifferent to the political situation in the
country and had no plans to follow political developments.

In
responding to the results of the survey, Levada Center sociologist Oleg
Saveylev said that many Russians have more pressing concerns than the country’s
political situation: “With the exception of those in some of the main cities,
people are just trying to survive. They are therefore more concerned with
issues of poverty, the soaring cost of utilities and food, and low wages. When
people are fed and clothed better and they have everything that they need, this
is when they start to think about politics and democratic values.”

Stepan Lvov, the head of the Department of
Socio-political Research at the Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM)
suggested that a lack of faith in the future of the country is also partially
to blame. “This growing apathy
influences the attitude towards politics more than in any other field,” Lvov
said.

Leontiy Bryzgalov, a senior research
fellow at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said
that those who are interested in politics share a number of characteristics. They
are members of what is usually referred to as the “urban middle class.”

They
are more affluent, with a higher standard of education. Even though this group
could not be considered wealthy, exceptionally well off, their standard of
living is higher than that of rural Russians, and this has actually contributed
to the overall lack of interest in politics, according to Bryzgalov.

“Many people have began to feel that
politics is a game for the rich, and that ordinary people should expect nothing
from it, and that politics bears no relation to their own interests and
problems,” Bryzgalov said.

He added that a lack of faith in the
current crop of politicians is also a factor. People were more interested in
politics in the 1990’s, Bryzgalov said.

“However, since then, people have felt
alienated from their leaders. They think that all political issues are resolved
by a small group and this does not depend on popular opinion, their vote, or
whichever party they voted for at all. This is the very reason why everything
linked to politics is perceived of interest only to those who are directly
engaged in political life,” said Bryzgalov.

At the same time, experts hold out hope
that this current apathy towards politics is temporary.

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Said Lvov: “The current attitude to politics [of
the respondents] are influenced by immediate events taking place at that
particular point in time when we carried out the survey on them.” He added that
it would only take one radical act to galvanize the population. “Someone could
receive word of something outrageous taking place that does not sit well with
their understanding of morality or public order.”

Bryzgalov said that the interest in
politics among the urban middle class only began to increase after the 2011
State Duma elections and that this trend still had the potential to spread
throughout the overall population.

“I would say that interest in politics
began to rise following the events on Bolotnaya square. It was then that
society began to get heated. Apart from that, a new generation has come
through, who want to speak out and they are not very interested in
hibernating,” Bryzgalov said. The desire for change is growing among the
population little by little, as well as a desire to have some influence on
something.”